Had a little family party for Baby D – Colleen and Mitch’s great (grand?) nephew. There were presents:
Cake:
And, of course, taking selfies with Baby D.
Had a little family party for Baby D – Colleen and Mitch’s great (grand?) nephew. There were presents:
Cake:
And, of course, taking selfies with Baby D.
Well, it’s official. I have more Halloween storage bins than Christmas storage bins (and I have a loooooot of Christmas storage bins). So it only took 2 days to get all the Halloween stuff up with help from my 10 and 8 year-old Halloween gravestone-placement consultants. I wanted to share some of my favorite décor items.
These are my new platters. I love, love, love them. I would marry them, but I don’t think they could get all the Halloween bins down from the attic with the efficiency that Kevin can. They are from Cost Plus World Market online:
Hello gorgeous! From TJ Maxx/HomeGoods:
Candles from Martha Stewart for Grandinroad a few years ago. Ghostie and pumpkin from TJ Maxx/HomeGoods:
Nosferatu painting in the bathroom – from Ebay, can’t read the artist’s name very well anymore, looks like it says Renee Backer:
Pillows for the kitchen table bench from TJ Maxx/HomeGoods (are you sensing a theme here?):
My favorite Halloween picture of Guitar Boy and Fake Sister (they were 4 & 5). Frame from TJ Maxx/HomeGoods:
My favorite Halloween picture of Drummer Boy. Frame from Kohls:
Here’s what the outside of the house looks like during the day:
And at night:
Soooo, it’s pretty clear that I have a TJ Maxx/HomeGoods “problem” that needs to be confronted.
Moving on.
What food is being made to celebrate this magical season you may ask? Well, it depends. Are we talking about the 9th Avenue Halloween Block Party? Allison’s Costume-Mandatory 6th Birthday Party? The High School/College/Old Friends We Never See Halloween Pizza Night Open House? Or are we talking about actual Halloween (on a Friday – woot!)? It is a crowded Field Notes party planner, that’s for sure.
Food on deck:
Crack Dip with Tomatoes from Whiteonricecouple.com
(see picture from prior post)
White Pizza Dip from Howsweeteats (my newest blog obsession)
Apple Cider Sangria from Howsweeteats (see above)
Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies from The Pioneer Woman (who is now designing her own line of cookware – jealous!)
Candied Pumpkin Seeds from Healthygreenkitchen
Cheddar Chive Cheese Pumpkin from Jamhands
Creamy Tomato Soup from Howsweeteats (really, I need to stop bothering this woman).
And in case you were wondering, Guitar Boy will be going to various parties as a crypt keeper/angel of death (need to get multiple uses out of our scythe!) and trick or treating as Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. Drummer Boy will be a faceless specter at the parties and the 10th Doctor Who for Halloween. Because out here, one costume is simply not enough.
Where could these kids get their sense of Halloween excess from? I wonder.
Happy Halloween everyone!
If your summer garden decided to explode with tomatoes (as many of my friends’, family’s and co-workers’ gardens did) I thought I’d share some recipe “hits” from the last week or two of summer tomatoes. All of these work best with fresh, summer tomatoes, but you might be able to pull off the pasta sauce, the tart and the dip in the winter too with store-bought grape tomatoes.
Baked Tomato Sauce from Smitten Kitchen
Made this with both red and yellow cherry tomatoes from my CEO’s garden. It was delicious (not just saying that because he’s my boss)! I also added an additional clove of garlic to the breadcrumb mixture and once it was tossed with the pasta, topped with a chiffonade** of basil and a tablespoon of parmesan.
Sorry, we we’re hungry from being at the pool, so no “after” picture, just “gone”.
Crack Dip with Grape Tomatoes from Whiteonricecouple
I had even more yellow grape tomatoes from the aforementioned CEO bounty. This was as delicious as their website advertised.
Before:
Shortly thereafter at the Rehor’s pool (nom, nom, nom):
Tomato Burrata Baguette from Gouda Monster
If you happen to have ombre heirloom tomatoes, which are currently $179.99/pound at Whole Foods, then you will have something as beautiful as the picture. But I’m here to tell you that whatever mutant but beautiful summer tomatoes you have will work just fine (see this interesting video “Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables” from Intermarche in France and what a difference it makes to not waste non-perfect produce).
Slice the bread a little thinner than just in half, otherwise it is very hard to eat unless you are capable of opening your jaw Jim-Carrey-in-Mask style. Depending on the thickness of your chosen loaf, I might even suggest thirds and then use the middle, non-crust piece to make breadcrumbs. After toasting the bread, I spread the burrata on and put it back in the oven for about 2-3 minutes to get it extra melty. Used sea salt on top of the tomatoes. I’ve made this twice as a starter, and each time Kevin said, “Why did you even make anything else for dinner?”
Grilled Cherry or Grape Tomatoes or just Tomato Vierge Spread adapted from Prasino’s in LaGrange
Grilling Option:
In a large bowl, mix 3 cups whole yellow and red cherry tomatoes, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs (I use a mix of basil, chives and parsley), ½ teaspoon of onion powder and 1 tablespoon chopped garlic.
Let sit about 30 minutes. While they sit, soak wooden skewers in water. Thread tomatoes on skewers and place on grill (with whatever you are otherwise grilling). Grill about 15 minutes or until charred. Eat as a side or serve with toasted bread and whatever else gets you crackalackin (buffalo mozzarella, goat cheese, more basil, red onion, etc.). You can use the remaining marinade to drizzle over the bread.
Overnight or Baking Option:
In a large bowl, mix 3 cups halved or quartered red and yellow cherry tomatoes, (½ cup extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs (I use a mix of basil, chives, parsley), 2 tablespoons capers, drained (or ½ tsp onion powder) and 1 tablespoon chopped garlic.
When I have time, I just let this sit overnight in the fridge and serve as a spread for bread (see above). If you don’t have time, I would suggest cooking it in a 375 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes to meld flavors. Then toast some French or Italian bread slices and use the mixture as a spread.
Tomato Tart from The Pioneer Woman
This is a nice little starter when grilling steaks.
Heirloom Tomato Stack Salad adapted from Cooking Light
You know me, if it said “Avocado and Thing” on the menu I’d say, “Mmmm, that sounds good.” However, I am one of those people for whom cilantro tastes like soap, so I substitute parsley. I also lay the cut tomatoes on a layer of paper towels to drain a little, otherwise this ends up a really runny mess on the plate. Keeping with that theme, I also use 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and sometimes add an additional tablespoon of sour cream after blending the dressing if it seems too thin. For the record, I have never been able to get the avocado into that cute little dice you see in Cooking Light’s picture. I tell myself that is because the food stylist was clearly using an un-ripe, hard avocado and therefore mine, with my lumpy pieces of avocado, is much more delicious. I am comfortable basking in the lies I tell myself.
Happy end of summer everyone!
**To the haters—back off. It’s not fancy, it just means you stack the basil leaves on top of one another, roll the basil leaves up and slice them into the thin strips. And no, I don’t have a special tool for that.